as in rhetorical
marked by the use of impressive-sounding but mostly meaningless words and phrases
a bombastic speech intended to impress the voters in her congressional district
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Recent Examples of bombastic
The three-minute-plus earworm is more of a bombastic wakeup call than a nursery rhyme.
—
Jae-Ha Kim, Rolling Stone, 25 Mar. 2026
Anyone expecting Draper to be bombastic about his immediate prospects will be disappointed, however.
—Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2026
He was tasked with putting the film into theaters with that bombastic Imax sound.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 27 Feb. 2026
The trips have come even though as a bombastic podcaster during the Biden administration, Patel repeatedly lambasted Wray for using the FBI plane for personal travels and even suggested that the jet be grounded.
—Eric Tucker, Los Angeles Times, 24 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bombastic
Jae-Ha Kim, Rolling Stone, 25 Mar. 2026
Anyone expecting Draper to be bombastic about his immediate prospects will be disappointed, however.
—Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2026
He was tasked with putting the film into theaters with that bombastic Imax sound.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 27 Feb. 2026
The trips have come even though as a bombastic podcaster during the Biden administration, Patel repeatedly lambasted Wray for using the FBI plane for personal travels and even suggested that the jet be grounded.
—Eric Tucker, Los Angeles Times, 24 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bombastic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bombastic
Adjective
-
The unraveling of the once-cozy relationship is not just personal or rhetorical.—
Julia Khrebtan-Hörhager,
The Conversation,
24 Apr. 2026
-
For Republican Presidents, this has mostly been rhetoric.—
Zach Helfand,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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On average, its white blooms appear late April to early May, and develop into interesting inflated three-sided seed pods by autumn.—
Miri Talabac,
Baltimore Sun,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Baldoni’s attorneys pushed back, calling the projections speculative and wildly inflated.—
Cheyenne Roundtree,
Rolling Stone,
28 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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That public spat has overshadowed his pontifical tour of four African countries, which ended Thursday with a Mass for thousands of people in Malabo, the former capital of Equatorial Guinea.—
Claudio Lavanga,
NBC news,
23 Apr. 2026
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The bishops further authorized a new edition of the Roman Pontifical for pontifical Masses, expected to be completed by 2027, with Vatican approval pending for some rites, according to the Catholic News Agency.—
Jordan King,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bombastic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bombastic. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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